In recent years, the use of microwave ovens has become increasingly widespread. Such ovens allow foods to be cooked rapidly, even starting from a frozen state. With the advent of microprocessor circuitry in such ovens, they have become more attractive to consumers, allowing an even higher degree of convenience to be achieved in terms of cooking temperature and timing controls.
Attempts to utilize microwave ovens as the sole cooking expedient, however, have suffered from drawbacks. Unfortunately, while microwave cooking equipment does the desired job of "cooking" food in a relatively short period of time, the resultant "cooked" food retains a somewhat raw or uncooked appearance. Microwaved poultry, for example, fails to achieve the desired "golden brown" color, and instead appears white. Consequently, it has been recommended practice (Julia Child, From Julia Child's Kitchen, published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York 1975, page 641) to brown poultry, such as chicken, first in a conventional oven, then finish it in a microwave oven. Similar problems obtain with pastries, such as cakes and pies; fish food; meats, such sausage; eggs; mushrooms and the like, which microwave to an unplatable white or grey color.
One approach suggested heretofore to minimize the non-browning effects of microwave-cooking equipment has involved the use of an application to the foods of colored sauces previously marketed for utilization in spicing foods, eg., barbeque sauces. This technique, although of limited success, has not proved totally satisfactory in offering only a limited, highly spiced diet and in failing completely with certain foods, eg., pastries.
Thus, a search has continued in the art for an expedient offering a versatile and effective solution to the non-browning characteristic of microwave-cooking equipment.